The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-12-11

| took this view ! could not clearly I'M
derstand. unless it was because of GER
tain relics he had found in some of the
| tombs.
The city extended out in all directions
from the palace or temple, and the
foundations OF many of the houses
had been exposed, many of them con.
sisting of but single room; but now
and then there would be one of larger
and more ample proportions, and in
most of these larger ones there had
been found burial vaults and skeletons
Two thousand of these skeletons had
been exhumed when l was there. There
was q general burial ground where the
dead seemed to have been thrown pre-
miscuously-a sort of potter's field
but the skeletons here were so broken
up that nc. good specimens could be OBJ
ia ned. The richer people buried their
dead in their houses, building alright
vaults for the purpose; but the poor
classes were disposed of much as they
are to-day in our larger cities.
Mr.. Gushing had found a great deal
of pottery in the mounds as well as in
and about the dwellings. l saw a
number of pieces that were well pre-
served and that had been painted
with much skill. All the best specimens
seemed to have been used for sacred
purposes and this was, no doubt, one
reason Mr.. Gushing had for believing
these people. whoever they were, had
arrived at period in their national
history when the priests were at the
head of affairs. These finer pieces of
pottery were of many different shades,
but were all of light color, with black
markings and figures, reminding one
greatly of ancient Egyptian pottery. The
inferior specimens look much-like that
made by the Arizona Indians of to- day
and which one may see brought into
Tucson almost every day for sale. No
iron, copper or metal instruments of
any kind have been found, but great
quantities of stone axes, stone pestles
and mortars, bone needles and knives,
and other such materials as belong to
the stone age. But the skill with which
these articles were made was far
| found in America by the whites. These
prehistoric jewellers of southern
Arizona were people of very superior
intelligence. They built cities that
ranked with those found in Mexico by
Cortez, and were IN advance of those
of the Colorado Zuni tribe of the present
day. Mr.. Gushing thinks they were
much the same people as the Zunis !;
and may add that he had two very
intelligent Zuni Indians with him when
| was at his camp. He had sent for
them, thinking they might assist him
in identifying the people into whose re-
mains he was making these explora-
tions.
Mr.. Gushing has found a good deal of
wheat and barley and other grain-all
of it. of course, in a charred, black
ened condition; and he had also
traced several canals, and had found
the ruins of large reservoir-so
that he had no doubt that extensive
irrigation had been carried on, and
that all the valley had been under cul-
tivation. He thinks there must have
been population of at least 25, 900 in
the ruined city he was exploring, and
that most of the inhabitants lived by
cultivating the soil of the surrounding
country. This is not an unreasonable
conclusion. So large a population
could not have been supported by hunt.
ing and fishing; il fact, this is not a
means OF support even among the Ari-
iona Indians of to-day, all of them
their main dependence for food.
l asked Mr.. Gushing what was his
theory of the disappearance of this pre-
historic people, and the almost complete
obliteration OF their city.
81 think" said he, "they suffered
from some great calamity like the
inhabitants of HercuIaneum and
Pompeii. 1t was probably an
earthquake. l have found skeletons
under the walls of houses, ly-
ing as if the wall had suddenly fallen
upon the person aud crushed him to
death. Yes, think there came q ter
rible earthquake, killed many and
frightened the remainder away. They
were no doubt religious people and
strongly superstitious. so that they
saw in the calamity that beteil
them q warning to seek some other
abode. They probably moved south,
and it may have been their descendants
that the Spaniards found in Mexico.
They were certainly equal in intelli-
gence and general advancement to the
Aztecs."
/ came away from Mr.. Cushing's
camp profoundly impressed by the dis
coveries he had made and of the great
Importance of his work in Arizona. No
portion of America is so rich in the re-
mains of prehistoric peoples as this
southern district of Arizona, and Mr..
Gushing has hardly made beginning
in his explorations.